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“You sound disappointed.”
“Only that I didn’t get to finish him myself. Any casualties on our side?”
“Two injured, but they’ll make it. Marconi’s men weren’t expecting us. We had the element of surprise.”
“Good work. Ensure the families of the injured are taken care of.”
“Already on it, boss.”
Ending the call, I turn back to Isabella, my expression a mix of relief and contemplation. Her eyes are on me, filled with curiosity and concern.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, her voice soft in the night.
I take a deep breath, the weight of my next words heavy on my tongue. “Marconi is dead.”
Her reaction is not what I expect. Instead of relief or indifference, she looks visibly saddened.
“I thought you’d be happy,” I say.
“I am. It’s just I’m scared.”
“What are you afraid of? He’s dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“Dominic, I’m scared,” she admits. “Scared of what this means, scared of losing myself in you.”
I reach out to brush a strand of hair from her face, my touch gentle. “I’ll always keep you safe, Isabella. I promise.”
“But your last wife… I need to know what happened to her.”
“It was a long time ago, it’s ancient history.”
“Clearly not to Marconi. What if there’s anyone else out there wanting revenge for what you did?”
I shake my head. “He was her last surviving relative. We’re safe.”
“Look, I can admit I have feelings for you. Strong ones. But right now I’m being kept in the dark and I hate it. Please, you only need to tell me once but I need to know what happened.”
I stare into her eyes and decide it’s time to share my story. “We were driving to our honeymoon. She hated me. She never wanted to marry me but our parents arranged it. She started yelling about me ruining her life and that she was going to ruin mine and then it just happened.”
“You shot her?”
“What? No. Of course not. Is that what you think of me?”
She’s staring at me, eyes wide. “So what happened?”
“I should have noticed when she went for the parking brake but I was too angry to focus. She was telling me to stop and I was driving faster to try and shut her up and she just did it.
“She was crazy, grabbing the steering wheel and yelling that she’d rather be dead than married to a Caruso. The car spun out of control and hit a wall. When I came to, she was dead.”
“But… I thought you killed her.”
“I should have seen what she was going to do, should have stopped her. I might not have killed her but it was my fault she died.”
She puts a hand on top of mine. “All these years, you’ve blamed yourself for her death? It wasn’t your fault, Dominic.”
She presses her lips to mine, our lips meeting in a tender yet passionate kiss. The kiss deepens, fueled by weeks of pent-up emotions and the day’s revelations.
I gently pull away, my heart pounding in my chest. The weight of my dark past slowly lifts as her words wash over me like a cleansing rain. The dining room seems to fade away.
